A science fiction drama, ‘Alien Boy’ finished filming last month at the John Hopkins Regina Soundstage. The movie is set in the 1990’s and follows Hadi, played by Teym Joseph, and his father Farouk, played by Waleed Zuaiter. The pair play refugees from Kuwait and while Farouk is struggling to settle into his new home, Hadi has an entirely different struggle of his own, aliens. “The alien abduction and the alien interaction becomes a metaphor and this young boy, his interaction with them is not one of fear and terror. There is some of that, but really, it’s about finding a sense of self,” said Producer Anand Ramayya. Ramayya, who also serves as the President of Karma Film, said the original plan was to shoot the movie in Toronto. He ended up selling the idea to film it in Regina, to both Creative Saskatchewan and the Canadian film distributor Mongrel Media. “I think people take pride in seeing that we make films here. And we live in a beautiful place, and we’re able to do films at the same level as anywhere else in the country and internationally,” Ramayya said. Speaking of local talent, Ramayya said ‘Alien Boy’ unearthed the discovery of a young Regina talent by the name of Iylah Brown. She plays a main role in the film opposite Joseph’s character. Some in the Queen City may have seen her as Young Anna in the Globe Theatre’s rendition of Disney’s Frozen. “We literally chose her over everyone else. And she just happened to be from Regina. So, I think that was a really big win. And this young lady has also secured an agent in Toronto now, so yeah, I think we’ve got the talent,” Ramayya said. Now that the film has wrapped shooting, Ramayya says he expects ‘Alien Boy’ to hit theatres internationally in late 2027.
